The present invention pertains generally to sewn articles and sewing operations and, more particularly, to sewn attachment of different pieces or panels of material by gussets.
In the sewn construction of padded articles, such as furniture cushions, seating and mattresses, a padded layer or layers may be enclosed in upholstery and attached by a gusset to an accompanying pad or spring unit. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, for example in a pillowtop style mattress, a pad or pillowtop 100 is attached to an adjacent support structure 120 by a gusset 140, which in one form is a folded band of material sewn along the fold line 141 and one edge 142 to a first panel 110, and sewn along the other edge 143 to the underside of pillowtop 100. At corners 160 of the pad 100 to which the gusset 140 is sewn, the gusset is mitered at seam 170 to allow the gusset to turn the ninety degree corner of the support structure 120. The mitering of the gusset at the corners 160 requires at least one miter cut to be made in the gusset at each right angle corner of the adjoining panel. Each of the mitered corner cuts must be individually sewn so that the gusset forms a closed structure between the mattress and the pillowtop. In a manual assembly process, the gusset is separately constructed by sewing together each leg of the gusset at the mitered corners to form a gusset frame which matches the mattress panel. The gusset is then sewn-attached to the edges of the top panel of the mattress by a tape edge. Thereafter, the pillowtop is attached to the other free edge of the gusset by a second tape edge.
If the miter cuts at the corners of the gusset are not made at the correct angles, the gusset corner will not have a smooth contour or appearance. Also, in articles where the gusset remains visible, the multiple seams in the gusset are unsightly and vulnerable to separation. Constructing a gusset this way is a tedious manual production process which adds significantly to the cost of producing pillowtop mattresses and similar sewn articles.
The present invention overcomes these and other disadvantages of the prior art by providing a ruffled gusset corner construction which is easier to manufacture and which has an improved finished appearance and strength over prior art pillowtop attachment constructions. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided an attachment gusset for attachment of adjoining panels, wherein the gusset is continuously folded in half along a length of the material and sewn at the fold line to a first panel, generally along one or more sides of the panel. At the corners of the panel, a series of pleats are formed on the inside folded edge of the gusset to create a ruffled ninety degree corner, or a turn of fewer or greater degrees, which matches the edge of the panel. In an automated method of manufacture aspect of the invention, the panel is turned ninety degrees relative to a sewing machine head as the pleats are formed and sewn to the panel at the corner. The aligned edges of the gusset are aligned with the edge of a first panel to which the gusset is sewn. The edge of the gusset against the panel is sewn with the panel edge by a tape edge. The other edge of the gusset is attached to the edge of a second overlying or parallel panel by another tape edge. Edges of other layers of material may also be included in the tape edge. In this way, two panels are securely attached about the perimeter. The spreading of the gusset halves relative to the sewn fold allows it to accommodate layers of padding contained by the panels, such as a padded pillowtop attached to the top panel of a mattress.
These and other aspects of the invention are herein described with reference to the accompanying Figures.